Donald Trump defends ejecting top Hispanic reporter from press conference: "He stood up and started ranting and raving like a mad man"

Univision's Jorge Ramos gets mocked and escorted out by security before confronting Trump

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August 26, 2015 5:00PM (UTC)

Picking a fight with cable news' biggest star just wasn't enough for Donald Trump -- he has now tussled with America's most prominent Spanish-language journalist, Jorge Ramos.

At the start of Trump's press conference in Dubuque, Iowa, last night, the GOP frontrunner sparred with Ramos after the Univision anchor began to ask a series of pointed questions about Trump's hardline immigration policy.

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"Sit down, you weren't called. Go back to Univision," Trump barked.

Seconds later, a security guard swiftly overwhelmed Ramos and physically removed him from the room.

When Trump was asked later during the press conference wether he thought he handled his exchange with Ramos well, Trump denied recognizing the top Spanish-language anchor and dismissed him as "obviously a very emotional person."

After being asked by another reporter about his inability to answer Ramos' questions, Trump got defensive: "He just stands up and starts screaming, so maybe he's at fault."

Ramos was eventually let back into the press conference where he was able to engage in an extended exchange with Trump about his extreme immigration policy and rhetoric."I stayed outside the room and after about maybe 5-10 minutes, somebody from his team" invited him back inside, Ramos told CNN:

"It's good to have you back," Trump told Ramos upon his return to the pre-rally press conference. But this morning, Trump told NBC's "Today" that he thought Ramos had been "ranting and raving like a mad man" and that the veteran journalist was "totally, absolutely out of line." Trump claimed that Ramos had behaved disrespectfully towards the other journalists in the room.

Despite Trump's misleading suggestion that he did not even know who Ramos was, the two have had a rocky history. Ramos has called Trump "the loudest voice of intolerance, division and hatred" in America and Trump is suing Ramos' employer, Univision, for pulling out of its coverage of the Miss USA pageant after Trump's controversial comments labeling Mexican immigrants as "rapists" and "criminals." In June, Trump published Ramos' personal cellphone number in retaliation for Univision's decision.

"He's an honest guy. Now I like him," Trump said during the press conference after Ramos admitted to not having seen a Nevada state poll showing a large Trump lead.

Sophia Tesfaye

Sophia Tesfaye is Salon's Deputy Politics Editor and resides in Washington, D.C.
You can find her on Twitter at @SophiaTesfaye.